Liu Xiaoyuan, June 26, 2019
After months of appealing, complaining, and calling to resume practice, on June 23, lawyer Liu Xiaoyuan received “Beijing Bureau of Justice’s Decision to Cancel Lawyer Liu Xiaoyuan’s License.” For the past four years he had not been able to practice because Fengrui Law Firm (锋锐律师事务所), of which he was a partner, was at the center of the 709 crackdown on human rights lawyers, even though he himself wasn’t implicated. The “Decision” was dated June 14.
“This year marks the 40th anniversary of China restoring lawyers in its judicial system,” Liu Xiaoyuan tweeted. “The Beijing Justice Bureau finally kicked me out of the ranks of lawyers. Eight years ago in 2011, the Beijing Justice Bureau had wanted to eradicate me. I had been disappeared by police, and when I returned, the Bureau denied me annual review pass for two years. Later I was forced to cancel Qijian Law Firm (旗舰律师事务所) in exchange for keeping my practice in Beijing. I practiced at Fengsui Law Firm. Little did I know that the situation for lawyers would only get worse.”
China Change documented lawyer Liu Xiaoyuan’s arduous effort trying to resume practice in recent months.
Yesterday, he issued the following statement:
北京市司法局注销我的律师执业证，是以“北京锋锐律师事务所注销后，六个月内无律师事务所聘用”为由。这个“理由”显然是借口。在我被卡转所调动的六个月时间里，我几乎穷尽了信访与举报程序，给司法部官员、全国律协官员、北京市司法局官员、北京市律师协会官员写过多封信反映，还给国家信访局、北京市政府（市长）、北京市监察委、北京市政法委举报控告，也申请过行政复议，电话则是打了无数个，但北京市司法局就是不解除转所调动限制。
律师执业权是人权，北京市司法局滥用公权注销我的执业证，这是对我的打压迫害，严重侵犯我的人权。
参与剥夺我执业权的官员有：北京市司法局局长李富莹、副局长兼党委书记苗林、副局级干部兼律师行业党委书记王群、律师工作处副处长赵跃与朱玉柱、朝阳司法局副局长曹宏、朝阳司法局律师工作科科长牛旭。
[Translation] The Beijing Justice Bureau revoked my license, giving the reason that “six months after Fengsui Law Firm was cancelled, no law firm has hired you.” Their reason is false. During those six months I was willfully obstructed from transferring to another law firm. I exhausted all petitioning and reporting procedures; I wrote repeatedly to officials at the Ministry of Justice, the National Lawyers Association, the Beijing Justice Bureau, and the Beijing Lawyers Association. I also filed complaints with the National Public Complaints and Proposals Administration, Beijing municipal government (the mayor), Beijing Municipal Bureau of Supervision, and Beijing municipal CCP Politics and Law Committee. I also applied for administrative reviews. I have made countless calls. But the Beijing Justice Bureau simply did not lift the restriction on my transfer to another law firm.
A lawyer’s right to practice is his or her human right. By abusing its power to revoke my license, the Beijing Justice Bureau is persecuting me and violating my human rights.
The officials who have participated in revoking my license are: Li Fuying (李富莹), the director of the Beijing Justice Bureau; Miao Lin (苗林), the deputy director and Party secretary of the Bureau; Wang Qun (王群), Party secretary for lawyers and law firms; Zhao Yue (赵跃) and Zhu Yuzhu (朱玉柱), deputy directors of the Office for Lawyers Work; Cao Hong (曹宏), deputy director of Chaoyang district Justice Bureau; and Niu Xu (牛旭), director of the Office for Lawyers Work at the Chaoyang district Justice Bureau.
Related:
Liu Xiaoyuan and at Least Two Other Fengrui Lawyers Face Imminent Disbarment, China Change, March 31, 2019.
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